4/28/2017 4 Comments Home Genetic Testing #14Perhaps you have seen the ads on TV or heard about it, but the home genetic testing company "23 And Me" has become incredibly visible lately, and with the latest developments of the company you can bet you will be hearing even more in the days to come. The company started out as a DNA genetic testing company that markets itself as a simple and informative source for people to find out about their genetic background, all in the comfort of their own home. Consumers simply go online or call and a kit is mailed directly to them. With a simple swab of saliva the kit is returned to the testing lab and within weeks your results are available. This has proven to be a very popular and effective idea, and the cost is considered to be very reasonable.
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4/21/2017 5 Comments A Valley of Ethics? #13As the surge of technology in Silicon Valley charges ahead, questions are being asked as to just how important it is, or is not, for the pace of ethical standards to be running with equal importance to the technology itself. On a recent drive up to San Francisco, I was astounded at a number of new technology buildings that are either under construction or have just recently been completed. The valley is red hot, and that is fueling jobs and growth in the technology community at record levels. All this forward movement appears to be what most would consider major good news, with driverless cars and artificial intelligence taking center stage. But if we take a moment to really look at this subjectively, beyond the technology and the amazing newness of it all, are we actually considering the ethical impact it has? I think perhaps not. 4/14/2017 4 Comments Facebook Under Fire #12Once again Facebook is coming under fire for what many see as a very serious flaw, the spreading of illegal content on its website. Imagine that 24 hours a day, there are thousands of employees of Facebook who are known as “moderators” and it is their sole responsibility to screen content that is being added to the site literally every second. At the end of 2016, the platform of Facebook consisted of nearly 2 billion users, so one can only imagine how much content they are faced with managing on a moment to moment basis. Rarely does a day go by now where we are not hearing about some new development in the world of AI (Artificial Intelligence) that involves either a great advance in the technology, or the tragedy of when it goes terribly wrong. Uber, Facebook, Google, and even several automakers have all taken great strides in developing driverless vehicles which have yet to be granted full licensing by the government. Recently one of these driverless vehicles was involved in a fatal crash, and while the determining factors leading to the crash are still not available, it is probable that the crash was a direct result of the failure of the technology. The incident occurred when the car failed to apply brakes after a truck made a sudden left turn in front of it, which resulted in the driver being killed. |
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